Combination accelerator and brake pedal control



1941- A.-D. KUQMPF 2,268,040

COMBINATION ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDAL CONTROL Filed Sept. 27, 1941 INVENTOR. Auausr D, KUMPF' A Woe/V554 Patented Dec. 30, 1941 COMBINATION ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDAL CONTROL August-D. Kumpf, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application September 27, 1941, Serial No.41 2,540

\ Claims. (0!. mac) This invention relatesto automobiles and has to do particularly with accelerator or gas feed controls which, through appropriate linkage, are ordinarily employed to open the butterfly valve of the conventional carburetor.

. An object of the present invention is the im- I provement and simplification of controls of the nature described in my prior Patent No. 2,078,390, issued April 27, 1937. In that patent is shown and described a mechanism suitable for.

attachment to the ordinary brake pedal and floorboard by which a cooperation between the brake pedal and accelerator was accomplished in theinterests of safety. I

As I pointed out in that patent, many automobile accidents are caused by the. confused motions of drivers who becomeexcited in times of stress. In cases in which an unexpected obstacle or other hazard requires a quick application of brakes many drivers instinctively press the foot forwardly in the manner in which this is done to apply the brake. Howevendue to confusion and temporary loss of clear faculties it is unfortunate that some driverswneglect to move the foot. from the accelerator button or gas feed control pedal before the forward pressure is applied. Thus, an accident is hastened rather than avoided because the increased speed of the car may make stopping impossible if the driver finally realizes his mistake.

Inmy prior patent I attempted to provide mechanism of a character which would reduce the danger brought about by the involuntary forwarding motion of the foot and would capitalize on this involuntary motion so as to bring the car to a more rapid 'halt. The mechanism 1 employed to accomplish my purpose was morecomplicated and expensive than I conceive to be necessary in the light of my present invention.

A more detailed object of this invention is the accomplishment of all of the beneficial objects of my prior patent without the disadvantages of high cost, complicated and specialparts and Without changing ordinary driving habits or positions to any great extent. s

More specifically, I accomplish these objects by establishing a pivotal connection between the accelerator rod and a depressor bar which carries a head of a nature similar to the ordinary accelerator button. The pivoting action between the depressor bar and accelerator rod is resisted by a spring and lug arrangementatall times except when the drivers foot is moved forwardly into brake applying position and I. at that time pressure on the spring urged accelerator rrod is 165 released to close the conventional butterfly valve.

Various other and more detailed objects and advantages, as Well as structure features, will become more apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention, therefore, comprises the combination of the conventional spring urged accelerator rod and a depressor bar combined through a pivotal connection and controlled by a .springand stop lug arrangement during ordinary operations of the depressor bar. In this arrangement the depressor bar, through the pivotal connection and spring and lug control, in effect, furnishesa continuation of the accelerator rod into a comfortable position immediately to the rear of ,a .car with my invention arranged in .place with respect to other associated parts.

Figure 2 is, in effect, an end view takenfrom a position looking forwardly from the drivers seat. Referring now to the drawing, the ordinary floorboard of a car comprises a pair of angularly disposed plates 5 and 6 or a single plate formed with a pair of such parts in angular relation to each other. The conventional brake operating shaft 1 is carried in appropriatebearings beneath the floorboard and a brake lever 8 is keyed thereto so that downward motion of the lever 8, through application of pressure upon a pedal pad 9, will cause a rocking motion of the brake shaft. A conventional accelerator rod I0 is mounted beneath and through various connections including a spring return is effective to cause opening and closing of the carburetor valve. Up to this point all parts are customary and iound in oneform or another in the usual .modern day automobile.

sOrdinarily, an-opening is providedin the 'fioorboard to the right of the brake pedal pad!) and through this opening a rod protrudes so that downward pressure thereon will depress the ac- I 'celeratorrod and cause an opening of the carburetor-valve. In my present invention Icontemplate the formation of such an opening, as

indicated at H, immediately to the rear of the brake .pedal pad 9. .In viewof this location of of the accelerator rod to receive a block 13 which is provided with a pair of spaced ears [4 in which are formed a pair of transversely aligned. pivot openings. A depressor bar l5 carries a channel construction at its lower end which provides a pair of spaced pivot ears It: in which a pair of transversely aligned openings is provided. A stop lug I1 is carried at the lower end of the depressor bar It and a foot rest pad i8 is arranged at the upper end of the depressor bar.

Within the channel provided by ears I6 is arranged one tongue of a spring l9 and an intermediate loop of the spring I9 is arranged around a pivot pin 21] with the other free end of spring 19 resting upon pivot block l3. The loop of the the lug I! prevents a complete alignment so that there is always a slight angle to permit the 25 inauguration of a pivoting action upon the pin 20 as later to be described.

A leaf spring 2| having a downwardly depending tongue is secured to the back of the \brake pedal pad by appropriate screws and is thus in proper position to contact pad I8 when the depressor bar I5 is swung forwardly on pivot-20 to the position shown in dotted lines.

The operation of my invention may be understood from the foregoing but a brief description 5 will be given. The driver feeds gasoline to the car by pressing his foot downwardly upon pad l8 in a direction indicated by the arrow immediatelyabove and to'the rear of pad 18. Due

to the fact that depressor bar 15 and accelerator 40 rod Ii) are in substantial alignment the force exerted will cause a downward travel of the accelerator'rod and a consequent opening of the carburetor valve. It is understood that the spring I!) and stop lug I1 aid in maintaining this alignment during the desired acceleration of the car. If the need for a quick stop arises and the driver involuntarily pushes his foot in a forward direction the resistance to pivoting action offered by spring I9 is overcome and the depressor bar 5 swings around pivot 21? toward the brake pedal 9;

; When this motion is complete the pad [8 comes in contact with spring 2| and the driver's foot is already causing a depression of the brake pedal to bring the car to a halt. It can be seen that 5 the brake pedal pad 9 and the accelerator pad l8 will both be pushed forwardly during the brake application and, of course, thespring control of accelerator rod Ill will cause its upper end to return to idling position. When the driver removes his foot from the brake pedal pad 9 the spring return control thereof will return the pedal to the position indicated in Figure 1 and the spring 2! will tend to flip the depressor barv into the position shown in Figure 1 also, even '6 though the major portion of this return operation is accomplished by the tension of' spring 19. The brake return springs, thus, aid in resetting the depressor bar l5 for further gas feeding operations. From the operations above described it can be seen readily that the driver may use his right foot or left foot for gas feeding or brake applying operations withgreat safety. In some modern cars there are no clutch pedals but the 1';

tendency of most drivers is to shove both feet forwardly at the time of an emergency. Thus, on long trips a driver might wish to feed gas with his left foot so as to afford a rest for his right foot. In this case the ordinarily automatic motion of his left foot to engage the clutch pedal would stop the gas feeding operation and apply the brake in a short period of time.

Various modifications of the various parts and I arrangements may be made without departing.

fromthe spirit of my invention and I do not wish to be limited to the exact arrangement and construction shown but wish to avail myself of all variations coming properly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described comprising in combination a fioorboard having brake lever opening therein with an accelerator opening to the rear thereof, a brake pedal for reciprocating motion in said first mentioned opening with a pedal and arranged above said fioorboard, an accelerator control apparatus mounted beneath said floorboard and having an end in registry with said second mentioned opening, a depressor bar pivotally mounted on said accelerator -rod end, means for yieldably maintaining said accelerator rod and depressor bar substantially in alignment for transfer of motion during downward thrust of said depressor bar, and means associated with said brake lever for aiding in restoring said substantial alignment after pivotal motion of said depressor bar with respect to said accelerator rod.

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising in combination a floorboard having brake lever opening therein with an accelerator opening to the rear thereof, a brake pedal for reciprocating motion in said first mentioned opening with a pedal and arranged above said floorboard, an accelerator control apparatus mounted'bene'ath said fioorboard and having an end in registry with said second. mentioned opening, a

depressor bar pivotally mounted on said accelerator rod end, means for yieldably maintaining said accelerator rod and depressor bar substantially in alignment for transfer of motion during downward thrust of said depressor bar, and means for aiding in restoring substantial alignmerit of said accelerator rod and depressor bar after pivotal motion has destroyed said substantial alignment. r

. 3. Apparatus of the character described comprising a reciprocating accelerator rod and control apparatus, a depressor bar pivotally mounted on said accelerator rod, and means for yieldably maintaining substantial alignment between said depressor bar and accelerator rod during down- .ward motion of said depressor bar.

4. Apparatus of the character described comprising a reciprocating accelerator rod and control apparatus, ,a depressor bar pivotally mounted .on said accelerator rod, and means for yieldably -maintaining substantial alignment between said depressor bar and accelerator rod during downward motion of said depressor bar, and means for aiding in restoring said substantial alignment after pivotal motion of said depressor bar with respect to said accelerator, rod.

5. 'In a vehicle having accelerator control apparatus and a brake lever operable from the pressor ibar pivotally mounted on said accelerator rod in the general plane of movement of said brake lever, means for yieldably maintaining substantial alignment between said depressor bar and accelerator rod to transmit a longitudinal motion of said depressor bar, and means for aiding in restoring said substantial alignment after pivotal motion of said depressor bar with respect to said accelerator rod has carried said depressor bar toward said brake lever, said last mentioned means including a leaf spring carried by said brake lever.

AUGUST D. KUMPF. 

